When it comes to selecting lanyards, there are an endless number of options. Colour, size, length and attachment must all be considered. Out of all the lanyard options available however, the breakaway release is one of the most important. The breakaway release is an added safety feature that protects the individual wearing the lanyard. For instance, if the lanyard were to be caught in a piece of machinery or wrapped around the individual’s neck, the breakaway would separate the lanyard at the breakaway poin preventing injury to the wearer. So breakaway lanyards are just like regular lanyards, but come apart when there is a sufficient amount of pull.

As well as convenience, there are many benefits of using breakaway lanyards. When regular lanyards become a physical hazard or danger to others, breakaway lanyards are the best option that allows employees to wear their lanyard while still staying safe on the job.

Breakaway lanyards are a good option for workplaces that require constant visible security ID such as those that cater to the needs of children; including day-care and play centres, kindergartens and primary, intermediate and high schools. Infants and toddlers are notorious for grabbing, pulling, tugging, and yanking on things that dangle, so a breakaway mechanism could prevent friction burns, strangulation, choking, or harm to the carer. Also, for children who are required to wear lanyards, the breakaway function prohibits them from getting hurt when catching the lanyard on a piece of playground equipment for example.

Nurses in emergency rooms are constantly on their toes, running from one place to another; dealing with tubes, wires, and thrashing triage patients. Without a breakaway lanyard, a busy nurse can get caught on any number of things, or the lanyards can get tangled in wires. Breakaway lanyards keep the nurses on track without having to stop to untangle.

Additionally, employees may choose breakaway lanyards for ease of use. People can easily detach accessories from the lanyard to use them and reattach them when use is over. In this way, chances of losing things get reduced. Also, regular lanyards must be pulled on over the head, but breakaway lanyards can be attached like a necklace. If employees are required to wear hardhats, a breakaway lanyard can easily be put on regardless of the hat for example.

Breakaway lanyards can be stylish and safe no matter where you work or the environment you are in.

The value placed on issuing legitimate identification documents and cards is also a concern for national security. Organised crime syndicates will often do just about anything to obtain false ID to evade arrest for example, and billions of dollars are lost each year through identity theft and fraud. Each day we are faced with security threats, both internally and externally. One way for law-enforcement to limit and effectively stop these threats is to raise the standards when it comes to the implementation of a secure ID card system.

The need to make identification cards more tamper-free has also inspired card manufacturers to conduct research and use state-of-the-art technology; such as including bar codes or magnetic stripes to ID cards. ID cards of all types and sizes have become a necessity in the past few decades. It’s a fact that most people have some sort of ID card for a variety of licences and for work or school. However although some of us may wonder whether ID cards are really necessary, the fact remains that they serve as a way of protecting us as we go about our daily lives.

Why are ID Cards so important?:
• They ensure the proper processing of documents
• Fight criminal and fraudulent practices
• Guarantee work-related safety (when an employee wears an ID card as well as when personal information is provided when filling out official documents and papers)
• Essentially, they are worth the expense.

Another significant risk is that an employee could post or inadvertently reveal sensitive information. For example, someone could say that he or she “can’t attend a party because they have to work on xyz deal,” says Chip Tsantes, a principal in the financial services office of Ernst & Young. That might have just revealed the existence of a deal or a meeting not meant to be disclosed.

Despite the risks, companies can’t just say no to social networking. That’s not practical in today’s environment, note experts. For one thing, employees are going to participate in these sites on their own time at home in any case, creating some of the exposures regardless.

Another factor is that some workers, the younger ones in particular, may avoid working for organizations that are overly strict on using social networking on the company’s network, says Per Thorseim, a security consultant at EDB ErgoGroup, a Norway-based IT services firm. In some cases, “if employers say ‘we want you here but there’s no access to social networking sites,’ there’s almost no way they’ll want to work there no matter what kind of pay you give them.”

In some cases, employees can access sites through Internet proxy Web sites. It can also be hard for organizations to block sites once they’ve already been allowed for business purposes, says Thorseim. And they are increasingly part of business marketing and communications efforts. For these and other reasons, “few companies have been getting more conservative on what they allow,” he says.

Given that reality, it’s important for entities to draw up strong acceptable-use policies or to reevaluate existing ones. One element of a strong policy, particularly for highly regulated organizations, is to include language forbidding employees, unless expressly authorized, from representing the company, as opposed to themselves, online, says Tsantes. Some policies also require that employees never mention their employing organization, or even anything about their work, unless that is part of their job.

In addition to being told about the specific provisions of the policy, employees must be made to understand why it is important to follow the protocols not only at work but when using social media in their personal lives, says Tsantes. “If you explain it in the context of protecting their family and friends and then apply the same principles at the company, I think it will create a greater attention to the problem and more awareness.” Training can include sending information to employees via e-mail or an internal Web site. It can also be helpful to train an employee after a security incident, such as a malware infection.

Management should create a culture in which it’s considered acceptable for employees to report if they may have had a malware infection or other security incident related to networking and similar sites, he says. “You want to try to reward the behavior.” But the company must also make sure that there are negative consequences for those who do not follow the policies. A policy that is not enforced will serve no purpose.

Apart from setting parameters on what should be said on social networking sites, the company may want to monitor such activity to assess riskiness to the extent that doing so is legal and pertains to the work-related concerns. Certain networking sites can present greater risks than others. Some entities may want to familiarize themselves with the types of security measures taken by certain sites. Some more popular sites are actually stronger in protecting users’ security and privacy. Facebook, for instance, is “one of the safer sites” in numerous respects, Tsantes says. If a site seems insecure, the company may want to deny access to it from the company network.

It can also be important to ensure that employees do not have administrative access to their work computers, says Tsantes. By denying such access, if employees happen to click on something that’s installing malware it “will prevent most but not all infections.” Companies may also want to implement some of the newer security measures that can further reduce the exposure to social-networking-site risks. For example, there is technology that can grant access to Facebook and other sites but make the content “read only,” says Tom Clare, Websense’s senior director of product marketing.

Newer types of data loss prevention (DLP) solutions and technology can also be effective at preventing certain kinds of sensitive information from leaving a company’s network. DLP technology tends to be most effective when it is guarding against the loss of specific sensitive information, such as credit or debit card numbers, says Thorseim. Many DLP solutions can be expensive, however, and many of the newer technologies are largely untested.

Typically most burglars enter by forcing a window or door open, regardless of the target. Business owners and managers have more to deal with than just their sense of violation when burglaries occur; this includes loss of equipment or stock and expensive delays resulting in loss of income. Sometimes a burglary can deliver a knock-out blow to small businesses if important tools or records are stolen.

Young males predominately commit burglaries with approximately 80% being between the ages of 15 and 25. Social prevention programs and police initiatives like crime prevention partnerships can decrease burglary rates and managers can do alot more to prevent a burglary.

A conventional three-part security management plan can reduce the chance of a burglary. It involves conducting timely and comprehensive risk assessments, installing layered security measures and testing the security system regularly. But if this plan is to be effective, the whole business needs to be involved; from the owners and managers down to the cleaners.

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon studying the effect of Secure Socket Layers (SSL) on online behaviour discovered that 409 Internet users routinely ignore their browser’s SSL warning. The warnings inform users whether the Website has been authenticated, meaning the Website is who it says it is. Typically, the warning flashes because the certificate that validates a Website has expired. Less often, it means the user could be entering a dangerous Website riddled with malware.

“People get pop-ups in their browsers which say something about security but they don’t know what they are, so they swat them away,” said Lorrie Cranor, associate professor of computer science and engineering at Carnegie Mellon, told ABC News. “Nothing bad happened before and they think nothing bad will happen again.”

The reason why people tend to ignore security warnings is quite simple, according to clinical psychologist John Grohol. “If you’re constantly bombarded with the same message over again, you tend to ignore it,” he said. “The message has lost any intensity or originality or uniqueness in our minds.”

Skimming:

Skimming is the act of capturing magnetic information from a credit card or ATM card and then using it for fraudulent purposes. Skimming can be performed either with a handheld device, or a magnetic strip reader attached to an ATM, debit or credit card portal.

There are two types of card skimming. With the first, someone takes an extra swipe of your credit card. It could be a waiter, a store clerk, or anyone to whom you’ve handed your credit card for payment. Instead of just charging your card, the thief takes an extra swipe of your credit card using a small, hand-held device known as a skimmer. The skimmer extracts and stores the data from your card, giving the thief all the information he or she needs to create a counterfeit card. A skimmer can store card data from hundreds of different credit cards. Once information has been captured, it can then be downloaded into a computer and emailed anywhere in the world.

A second form of skimming involves the collection of ATM/debit card numbers and PINs. This is accomplished either by simply watching members as they use ATMs (a technique known as “shoulder surfing”), or by installing false card readers on top of existing ATMs. These skimmers record the information from the magnetic strip on the card while a small camera is placed either in the skimmer or near the ATM to record the PIN number. With the stolen information, scammers can manufacture counterfeit ATM/debit cards that then can be used to withdraw money or make purchase from accounts. Since the ATM machines work normally, victims are unaware that they have just given scammers the “keys” to their bank accounts.

Tips to protect you from card skimming:
• Be wary of anything about the ATM machine that looks out of the ordinary, such as odd-looking equipment or wires attached to a device. If it doesn’t look right don’t use it.
• If an ATM has any unusual signs, don’t use it. No bank would hang a sign that says for example, “Swipe your ATM card here before inserting it in the card reader”.
• Be wary of a “no tampering” sign. These are often placed by crooks to thwart anyone curious about a new piece of equipment.
• Be wary of a jammed ATM machine that forces customers to use another ATM that has a skimmer attached.
• If you see anything unusual or suspicious around an ATM machine, or if you find unauthorised ATM transactions on your bank account, notify local law enforcement, as well as your financial institution and/or the establishment where the ATM is located.
• Check your bank accounts regularly to make sure there are no unusual or unauthorised transactions. If you find any unauthorised transactions contact your bank and insurance company immediately.
• Protect your PIN – do not give your number to anyone and cover the keypad while you are entering your PIN. If possible, carry out your ATM transactions during the daylight hours, as most ATM-related crimes happen after dark.
• Never share, write down or disclose your PIN to anyone.
• Always sign your new ATM/EFTPOS card as soon as you receive it.
• Don’t choose a PIN that is easily associated with you eg. your birth date, phone number, or parts of your card number.
• Use different PIN numbers for each different card.
• Make sure that no one is looking over your shoulder when you enter your PIN number.
• Always put cash into your pocket or wallet before walking away from the ATM machine.
• Always remember to retrieve your ATM/EFTPOS card after using it.
• Do not use any ATM or EFTPOS terminal that looks like it has been tampered with (e.g. had components added) as it may have been altered for the purpose of skimming your card details.
• Be wary of anyone offering assistance, especially if the ATM has just retained your card, as they may be attempting to obtain your card or card details.
• When using an ATM be wary of anyone attempting to observe you entering your PIN and do not allow yourself to be distracted by anyone talking to you.
• If your card is retained by an ATM, go immediately to the nearest bank branch or call your insurance company.
• If you lose your ATM/EFTPOS card, contact your bank or insurance company immediately.
• Always keep your ATM/EFTPOS card in a safe place.
• Carefully dispose of receipts from EFTPOS and ATM transactions once you have checked these against your statement. This will help prevent others acquiring information about you and your cards.

A new student comes in, and while their paperwork is being filled out, an ID card is printed. This ID card has a full colour picture of the student, their signature, and a barcode or magnetic stripe.

The student can use it as a library card, it is scanned to record the checkout details. The ID card can also be used to log into a computer in class or the library. That computer then allows access to specific applications only, based on their pre-set configured access levels.

When visiting the cafeteria, instead of handing over money, they can simply have their ID card scanned. As it also works as a meal card, the total amount is deducted directly from their student account so there is no risk of monetary theft at the school.

If a student were to attempt to enter the staff lounge, they would be unable to because their special student ID card also works as a security card, and it does not allow them access to the staff lounge and other restricted areas.

When the student enters a classroom, they swipe their ID and are marked present. When they leave the classroom, they swipe again to verify they were in class the full time and to verify where they were last. If that student turns up missing, the school’s security system will know where they were last, and when.

These same ID cards can be used for faculty and staff. Maintenance crews can have access to boiler rooms or other mechanised areas, while students are not able to enter. Office staff can have access to private computer records, while the student staff is denied.

This level of security in any school system may seem worrying to some people, but in today’s world: it’s a reality that needs to be addressed. With so many people to keep track of these days, especially in today’s volatile society, security could be a nightmare but, can be easily managed. Therefore there is a strong need for ID cards especially among students to monitor and ensure a safe learning environment.

So how is it that most self-made millionaires in America started broke or in debt? How is it that some people are able to start a new business while completely broke and with little or no income and with no guarantee of success? Do entrepreneurial risk takers simply have a lower need for security? If you read the biographies of very successful people, you see a common pattern again and again — from an external point of view, most of these people were not in a secure situation when they started going after their dreams. Sylvester Stallone was so broke he had to sell his dog in order to afford to keep shopping around his Rocky script (which no one would buy). Tony Robbins did his dishes in his bathtub because his tiny apartment had no kitchen. Brian Tracy was a day laborer. Og Mandino was a homeless drunk who wandered into libraries to stay warm. Babe Ruth started out in an orphanage. While some successful people start out with a lot of advantages, most don’t.

Meanwhile, how is it that others who seem to be in a far more financially secure situation are paralyzed from taking action? People who have some money in the bank, a nice home, and a steady paycheck still don’t feel secure. Meanwhile, others with far worse starting positions pass them by. Why?

The reason isn’t that some people need security more than others. I think everyone needs to feel secure. The difference, however, is that the entrepreneurial-minded define security internally while others define security externally.

For example, those who can’t seem to take action will typically define security as $X in the bank, a house that’s fully paid for, a stable high-paying job with benefits, a solid relationship with the boss, a car that runs well, etc. Security is all about the externals. If the externals are stable, this person feels secure. But when the externals are threatened, such as the possibility of getting laid off, then this person doesn’t feel secure. This person will spend a lot of time striving to get these external factors in order.

But the entrepreneurial action-takers define security internally. Security comes from trusting in yourself — in your ability to think and to take action. As long as you have the ability to think and take action, you’re secure. Given this mindset you could be homeless and still feel secure. Why? Because you still have the ability to think and act — your homelessness is only a temporary setback. It’s not a threat to your security. So even while you may be in a financially unstable situation, external circumstances don’t threaten your security. Your security is guaranteed. It cannot be turned off by external events.

Now when it comes time to take action, you can see why one group will be paralyzed, while the other group will speed ahead. According to Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs, security is a more basic need than self-actualization. This means that you won’t be able to fully set and achieve big goals if you don’t feel secure. Security has to come first.

So given that most people don’t start out with sufficient resources to satisfy the external definition of security, those that define their security this way won’t be able to take action to go after their dreams until all the external factors are met. They’ll be waiting and waiting until they have enough money to feel secure, and only after that happens will they be able to go after their dreams. Most of the time, this will never happen — the person will die before they satisfy all these external factors. On the other hand, if they do manage to acquire sufficient resources to pursue their dreams, and their security is again threatened (for example, they lose too much money), then it’s time to put the dreams on hold and re-establish external security. This is a hugely ineffective way to pursue your dreams. In most cases it just won’t work at all. You’ll spend your whole life pursuing security instead of self-actualizing. And sadly, this is what most people currently do.

Now consider the entrepreneurial group who defines security internally. All you need to feel secure is to think and to take action. You don’t need any specific set of external circumstances to feel secure. You’re already secure because you believe in yourself. So you can move straight on to self-actualization, and you can stay there. You can continue to work on your dreams without pause. There’s no need to stop and satisfy some external need for security.

Having an external locus of control is paralyzing. If you define security externally, you’ll always be victimized by factors outside your control. But an internal locus of control is empowering. If you define security internally, you’ll always have that need met, no matter what happens outside your control. And thus, you’ll always be able to take action on your dreams, no matter what happens.

So how do you move from one group to the other? It’s nothing more than a choice. Just as you may have chosen to define security externally, you can choose to do the opposite. You can choose to look externally for verification of who you are and what you’re capable of (this is what most people do). Or you can look internally instead.

Believing that you can handle anything that comes your way is a choice. You don’t have to earn it. You don’t have to acquire a quantity of external validation to somehow earn permission to work on your dreams. You don’t need permission. You don’t need the external world to say, “OK, you’ve finally met the basic security requirements. You now have authorization to work on your dreams, as long as you maintain your current level of external security.”

Yes, it really is that simple, as stupid as it may seem. There’s no physical law that says you have to meet some arbitrary external security requirements before you can go after your dreams. You can be starting broke and in debt with no stable income, and you can still spend the bulk of your time going after your dreams. People keep doing this over and over and succeeding.

If you define security internally (and you’re completely free to select this option), many obstacles that seemed to hold you back will just melt away. While you should pay attention to possibilities like running out of money, most people overemphasize these obstacles and become paralyzed by them.

Money is an important resource to be sure. But time is far more important. When you run out of time, then you’re really done. But what happens when you run out of money? Did you know that you can run out of money and just keep on going? Running out of money doesn’t mean you have to stop living, and it doesn’t mean you have to stop going after your dreams. You don’t automatically die when you run out of money. No referee will show up and haul you off the field. The game doesn’t suddenly end.

The typical self-made millionaire has been broke or nearly broke an average of 3.2 times before making their first million. There are consequences to going broke, and you may need to tighten your belt for a while, but that doesn’t mean you have to stop. Running out of money is largely an imaginary obstacle. For those who define security externally, running out of money is a huge personal threat, something to be avoided at all costs. But for those who define security internally, running out of money is just a temporary setback. Donald Trump experienced this setback, as did Walt Disney, Abraham Lincoln, and many others who went after their dreams with tenacity.

It doesn’t matter where you’re starting from… whether you’re an employee or an entrepreneur, whether you have a lot of cash or are broke and in debt. Time is so much more precious than money. You can afford to lose all your money in the pursuit of your dreams. You can go broke over and over and just keep on going. But what you cannot afford to lose is time. Money can be restored. Time cannot. Even if you have no money at all, you can still think and take action. But when you run out of time, that’s it — game over. Each day of your life that passes is another day gone, never to return again. If you are paralyzing yourself with an external definition of security, you’re squandering your life away. If you aren’t spending your precious time working on your dreams — today, right now — then you’re just counting the days until you die. That external security will never come. The external factors will never be just right. If you are waiting for external security, you’re waiting for death. And in the meantime, you’re forgetting to live.

So what are you waiting for? External security is an illusion. In the words of Helen Keller: “Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.” So which will it be for you? Have you chosen the daring adventure, or have you chosen the nothing?

An HID proximity card has the capability within an access system to activate a door or log someone into a computer network. The card does not however have the capability of accessing an area within itself. The card within the framework of an access system will provide security and appropriate access to a controlled area.

This complete access system is able to function as a security officer that allows card holders into specific secured doors at certain dates and times. This is because the card is combined with a card reader, access control panel and a computer. 

To identify a card holder, the card holds an embedded binary code, which is a sequence of ones and zeros where a specific sequence is used. The coding format is transmitted from the card reader to the control panel for deciphering. The card may or may not have additional code embedded in the card. The access control panel normally does not use extra coding, but reviews the formatted code utilized in the system.

When the data is received by the controller, it begins the steps of verifying if the cardholder has access to the building. The length of the data string is analyzed prior to proceeding. If the format is different, the control panel will not be able to process the request. Once the format is verified, the controller can then check the facility code and site code for a match. If this is true, the controller moves ahead to match the card number. A matching card number will move the analysis forward. The information is then reviewed to see if the card holder has authorization to access during the date and time the access request is made. If so, the lock relay will activate and the door or network will unlock for access.

Access is denied if the HID proximity card is not able to successfully move through the above steps. The system may provide a specific response from the controller or there may not be any response at all.

The software application processing authentication transactions can be accessed by authorized personnel to updated cardholder information, configure hardware and to generate reports of access attempts and successes.

for more information: http://news.safecardid.com/2011/hid-access-cards-how-they-work?

Less than 30 percent of the 127 U.S. and European vendors surveyed said they considered security one of their “most important responsibilities,” according to the study. In addition, 62 percent of U.S. respondents and 63 percent of European respondents said they were either not confident or not sure that their services adequately protected customer information.

Such findings are surprising, given the well-publicized risks associated with the loss of sensitive data, according to a blog post by Dr. Larry Ponemon, the Institute’s president.

Many cloud vendors also don’t believe security is an important factor in how customers choose providers. Just 19 percent of American and 18 percent of European respondents said they considered security to be a competitive advantage. The top reasons customers migrate to a cloud environment include cost reduction, faster deployment time, and improved customer service, according to respondents.

Vendors and users also appear to have different perspectives on who should be most responsible for security in the cloud. Sixty-nine percent of providers believe customers are mainly responsible for security; in contrast, 35 percent of cloud users consider themselves responsible for security, according to an earlier Ponemon study. In addition, just 16 percent of cloud providers, compared to 33 percent of customers, believe security should be a shared responsibility.

Given the risks associated with losing sensitive data, however, “it is only a matter of time” before organizations will “demand enhanced security systems,” according to Dr. Ponemon’s statement.

In the meantime, cloud customers should be aware of their responsibility to asses security risks before placing data in the cloud, he said. They must thoroughly “vet providers and their applications and infrastructure for their ability to safeguard information.” More cloud services providers and customers should also consider sharing responsibility for security, he said.